Vegan Lemon Curd

A few weeks ago, we had a brunch with some friends and lemon curd was on the table.

Lemon curd is so delicious, but it’s so not vegan-friendly. So I set off to make my own inspired version.

This 1-pot, 5-ingredient vegan lemon curd is like the real deal, and it’s delicious enough to eat right from the jar with a spoon – the sign of any good dessert.

It’s also naturally sweetened and requires just 30 minutes hands-on prep time before going into the refrigerator to set and thicken.

The key to any good lemon curd is a ton of lemon zest and fresh lemon juice.

The creative part came with the base ingredients. And for that I went with coconut cream for rich, creamy texture, and arrowroot starch to thicken. To sweeten naturally, I went with a little maple syrup. Oh man, so good.

I imagine this would work well with lime juice and zest, too!

This curd is the real deal. It is slightly more white in color because there are no eggs, but the lemon flavor is 100% there.

I hope you love this curd! It’s:

Rich
Creamy
Thick
Lemony
Tart
Perfectly sweet
& Seriously delicious

I was so pleasantly surprised at the way this curd turned out! The coconut flavor is minimal (to none), the lemon really shines through, and it’s not too sweet.

If you’re like me, you’ll want to enjoy this straight out of the jar, pudding style. But it also makes a delicious topping for waffles, pancakes and baked goods, like these Lemon Muffins!

If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a picture #minimalistbaker on Instagram! We love seeing what you come up with. Cheers, friends!

Ingredients

Instructions

Place coconut cream and lemon zest in a small saucepan and whisk to combine.

Add lemon juice and arrowroot starch to a small mixing bowl and whisk to thoroughly dissolve. Then add to coconut cream mixture and stir.

Lastly, add maple syrup (starting with lesser amount // 1 Tbsp as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) and whisk again until well combined.

Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a low bubble – not boil – whisking often. Once it starts bubbling and getting thick, reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking until a visible ribbon forms when spooning a bit of the curd across the top. It should be thick and kind of jiggly in texture. During this process switch to a rubber spatula for stirring to ensure the curd isn’t sticking to the bottom or sides of the pan.

Remove from heat and taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more lemon zest for acidity/brightness, or maple syrup for sweetness.

Let rest for 15 minutes, then whisk once more and transfer to a glass bowl or jar (I prefer these) and cover with plastic wrap, making sure the plastic wrap touches the curd – otherwise a film may form.

Refrigerate for 5-6 hours, or overnight, or until completely chilled and set. Will keep in the refrigerator 7-10 days, though best within the first 4-5 days.

This is so delicious you can eat it straight, but it makes an especially delicious topping for muffins, pancakes, waffles and other baked goods.

Notes

*I prefer the coconut cream from Trader Joe's. You can try subbing full-fat coconut milk, but it will likely not be as thick and creamy. Try adding more arrowroot starch to help thicken. *For all other substitution questions, check out our Recipe FAQ page.*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

Given that the dairy and eggs have been omitted, what are the refrigeration requirements? I understand that it is still a perishable product, but how much so? I would like to utilize this a filling in a layer cake, but am curious as to whether it could be kept on the countertop for several days as you would with a jam-filled option (rather than the refrigeration that a “real” curd would require).

After trying this recipe out, while I truly believe the amount of lemon flavor was perfect, I don’t see arrowroot being the ideal starch for this desert. I also personally increased the amount of maple syrup given the entire can of coconut milk. Arrowroot makes this lemon curd rather slimey and stringy, and now that I’ve attempted this with the hopes that I didn’t need to go to the store to get tapioca or cornstarch, I guess it’s been confirmed why the entire internet agrees that arrowroot isn’t right for creamy things. It also never entirely firmed up for me or reached a stringy stage before I added a touch more arrowroot. That said, I appreciated the simplicity of the recipe. I hope you try out some other startches and tweak this one for us, because otherwise the flavor is great!

This looks lovely! Is this “sturdy” enough to use as a filling between layers of a cake (like you would use traditional lemon curd)? I need a vegan, nut-free recipe, so this would be perfect if it works (anything with cashew cream is out). Thanks!

Hi there! I saw back in 2016 someone asked this same question, but there was no response. Do you have any suggestions for subbing out the coconut cream? It just really doesn’t agree with me so I would like to use a different milk/cream if possible. What are your thought? I was even contemplating trying to make my own cashew cream at home and see if that works, but that sounds a little ambitious for a jumping off point. Thank you!!!!!!

Hi Manda, we haven’t tried any other milks/creams in this recipe and aren’t sure how it would turn out. Cashew cream would likely be the best option. You may need to add additional arrowroot to help it thicken. If you do some experimenting, we would love to hear how it goes!

Hi again,
So looking over all my ingredient, my can of coconut cream is 13.5 oz. But I wouldn’t think that would cause it not to thicken unless 1/2 cup lemon juice is too much. I decided to take out some of the cream and add a teas. more arrowroot and added it, but the consistency is the same. I guess I will just let it cook now and report back with the results. Also, no my arrowroot is not expired and I did not boil it while making this. :)

Hmmm,
I am in the middle of making this right now. It tastes great and is silky but…I am not getting any ribbon? I do not think it is thickening enough. I am wondering if I should just keep cooking and cooking and if so for how long? :)

I follow keto diet but would like to try altering this recipe. We cannot have arrowroot/cornstarch, honey or lemon juice. I want to use lemon essential oil to replace some of the lemon juice. I have used xanthun gum in the past for thickening custard desserts. Thinking that will work for the arrowroot. But by omitting the honey I wonder if I should use canned coconut milk for more liquid. What are your thoughts?

Hi Jess, we aren’t sure how it will turn out with these modifications. We think you may need to add stevia to replace the maple syrup or it will be very tangy. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!

I’m currently dreaming up ideas for dessert on Christmas Eve. Thinking a Cranberry or Pomegranate Curd tart might be delicious but I can’t find a recipe for vegan versions. Do you think I could swap out the juice in this recipe for one of those?

I made this but my can of coconut cream was 400ml it didn’t matter I followed the rest of the recipe using cornflour instead. It thickened well and tasted good. I would love it to look more yellow but I suppose shop bought curd uses colouring in it! Will definitely make this again. Thanks

Hi Isabelle! We haven’t tried using sweetened condensed coconut cream and can’t say for sure. We recommend keeping the maple syrup in the recipe but if you experiment with it, report back on how it goes!

Sounds delicious, but I keep running into the same problem looking for vegan dessert ideas/components: our son is allergic to coconut. So many good dairy substitutes use coconut milk or cream. He also is allergic to tree nuts and peanuts, so nut milks are not an option. Have you ever been able to successfully thicken or increase the fat content in recipes using soy milk to make them “work” where the consistency is crucial? Thanks for any advice you have!

Oh thank you, my dear Minimalist Baker! I was watching a cooking show (which always makes me want to run to my own kitchen) in which they made lemon merengue pies. I realised I hadn’t had lemon curd in forever, and definitely not since I changed to a plant-based diet. Thanks to a quick Pinterest search, your familiar name popped up and I knew it would be a success! It is lovely and bright and fresh and SO delicious! This also came just in time for “pancake day”, so our pancakes were smothered in this lovely curd – a new favourite!

I used cornstarch and this dessert turned out perfectly. I loved it. I poured the lemon curd into small liqueur cups then covered with cello wrap. After cooling for several hours and before serving I topped the curd with coconut whipped cream (the kind you buy in a spray can) and fresh blackberries. It was so delicious and I’ll definitely be making this again. This is a great Vegan option

I bought a box of Meyer lemons that looked like ideal specimens for my first attempt at a vegan lemon curd. I admit to a degree of frustration that probably could have best been avoided with a little hand-held juicer that I will invest in before my second attempt. It took a lot longer than the suggested 10 minutes to cook to the point that curds were forming, closer to half an hour even after I increased the temp to just a little below medium. Maybe it is different with gas burners? In any event, with lots of stirring and a meniacal dedication to seeing it through to the bitter end, it got to the cooling for 15 minutes and then testing for taste. I made no adjustments. The Meyer lemons shone through like diamonds. I did use a little vanilla. What recipe doesn’t benefit from it? And now it tries my patience as it cools in the fridge. Based on the sneak-peek I had when tasting it, I’m sure this will be worth the wait as well as all of the effort. If I can add it to donuts, it will cure one sore spot of being a vegan. Thanks for sharing this!

Hi Dana,
I just made this recipe and tweaked the tartness to my liking. I used cornstarch to thicken and worked just fine. I was surprised that you barely taste the coconut flavor once its chilled. I served it with blueberry compote and sweet potato pancakes. My grand daughter couldn’t get enough of it and is already asking for me to make it again. Our new favorite breakfast or desert. Thank you!

Hi Dana,
First of all I wanted to say over 5 years ago when I first became gluten-free I made your carrot vegan muffins for the holidays and everyone was devouring them!!! I make your recipes all the time and they are so wholesome and delicious! I really want to make your custard but I’m on the verge of giving up! Everytime I attempt to make a vegan custard I’m stirring for hours and it doesn’t thicken or I overcook it and it’s clumpy and I basically throw a burnt gloppy mess in the garbage! What a waste! Please help me see what I’m doing wrong! I follow the instructions exactly put it on med fire it starts to boil then I lower it to med low and it takes forever to thicken up , sometimes it stays liquid, sometimes I reboil it even on max and it never thickens afterwards! I’m wasting hours in front of the stovetop! How often am supposed to stir ? I stir every minute to prevent burning. Also, if I succeeded to sort of to get a custard but the bottom is burnt should I throw out the entire thing?

I made this and it came out pretty stringy (almost like melted mozzarella). I really did not enjoy the texture although I thought the flavor was really great. I used all of the ingredients exactly as listed. I wonder what I could’ve done wrong to make it come out this way?

I’m wild about this recipe, Dana, and so is my 11 year old daughter! As dairy-feee eaters, and refined sugar concisous bakers, we needed this. I doubled the maple syrup because I’m using this in a lemon meringue pie for my mom’s birthday, but we tasted it with just the two tablespoons of maple syrup and liked it that way, too. Can’t wait to make another bowlful for our waffles and pancakes. Really, really, really tastey! Thank you, Dana!

I’m about to make your coconut vegan cream pie but initially I wanted to find a recipe for a lemon pie using coconut cream. I’m wondering if this lemon curd would work as a pie filling and I can just top it off with a coconut cream meringue. What would you say?

Made this with some of the lemons given to me from a friend. Delicious and creamy! Super easy and fun to make. It made about 2 and a half little jars and I’ll give one away for a gift and keep the rest for my hubby and me to spread on muffins.

I have made this vegan lemon curd twice now, and it’s an outstanding recipe, simply genius Dana! Thank you so much for sharing your culinary masterpiece with the rest of us! I used cornstarch and more of it as I didn’t have any arrowroot on hand and the extra cornstarch firmed it right up when it seemed too runny initially. Some in my family can’t have eggs, gluten or dairy and it was definitely not missed here!

I forgot to mention; (forgive me if this is obvious) several posts are questioning about draining the water from the coconut cream. If coconut cream (it’s not coconut milk in the can) is used, I found it does not have to be drained, but if starting with the coconut milk in the can instead of the coconut cream in the can, it will definitely have to be drained and two cans will be necessary to get the same amount of “cream” that is on the top of canned coconut milk if you refrigerate it for several hours, or can be scooped out and used if you drain the “water” from the coconut milk. Do not throw the water away it can be used in many recipes. Hope this helps.

I LOVE lemon curd but love when everyone gets to eat my desserts more. I baked for my parents and siblings for about 5 years, then recently started bringing my desserts to family events and parties. After my anorexia I wanted to start making more vegan dishes to help me recover. I’ve been baking vegan for about 2 years but one thing I never stopped eating was lemon curd. It’s my birthday and I wanted to make a lemon curd tart (my favorite) but some of my family is vegan and they know how great my desserts are, I don’t want them left out! So I searched the internet for vegan lemon curd. This recipe along with extra corn starch worked great as a tart, the taste and texture were less of a lemon curd and more of a posset, a dessert even better tasting than lemon curd. I added a blueberry-chia compote to the top. Thank you and maybe you could try making a vegan posset sometime in the future (a posset is made of three basic things: heavy cream, sugar, and lemon, lime, or passion fruit)

I tried this recipe today. It didn’t thicken up for me using the arrowroot starch so I added 2 Tbsp of cornstarch dissolved in a bit more lemon juice and reheated for a few minutes, and it thickened up very nicely. I also added a pinch of turmeric to get that nice yellow color. This will be a great addition to spring desserts!

I made this to use between a lemon layer cake with a coconut cream cheese frosting (all vegan)! I used tapioca in place of arrowroot but that’s the only modification. It was tart but paired perfectly with the cake and frosting! Love this recipe!

Hi Dana, I gave this a shot today, and the “visible ribbon” appeared before the mixture had even started bubbling. So I kept cooking it, and it never got back to that jiggly, ribbon stage…I ended up adding a bit more arrowroot slurry to the mixture, and cooking it for a couple more minutes. Gonna stick it in the fridge soon and see whether it firms up!

My question is: is it possible to overcook this, and is that what I did?

(I did >_<) It thickened up slightly, but was still pretty gloopy. Not sure what the texture of lemon curd is supposed to be but it didnt really look like your picture. Tasted great though-used it to fill a lemon meringue cake!

I turned this recipe into the filling for a lemon Meringue pie. Yum! It turned out incredible! I was actually quite impressed with this recipe & with myself, after this one. Delicious custard =scrumptious pie! Thank you for the recipe. I did add extra arrow root powder to firm it up a good bit more, and not become a runny mess after slicing it. Success! Truly delightful, I find your recipes & blog. Thank you again.

So… I LOVE your recipes. But more recently I’ve been laughing hysterically because each recipe I actually try I basically end up substituting every single ingredient for something else. Allergies, LOL.

For this one I’m going to try grapefruit or orange for the lemon zest & juice, cream for the coconut, golden cane sugar syrup for the maple syrup, and minute tapioca (which is tapioca starch) for the corn starch. Wish me luck!

Just now licking the jar clean…. I made this a couple days ago and it is DELICIOUS. It’s such a treat on fresh fruit and even on it’s own that I never even got around to putting it on pancakes like I originally intended…oops!
I did make a few changes, though: I really have a sweet tooth, so in addition to the maple syrup I blended a couple extra tablespoons of organic cane sugar to make powdered sugar. I also used a pinch of salt and a couple drops of homemade vanilla extract. This is so amazing I’m going to have to make it again to make my pancake plan a reality. >:)

This stuff is dangerous! It hadn’t even cooled and I was scooping it out of the jar to eat it (I had plans on spreading it on a pancake but the spoon didn’t make it past my mouth). So so insanely delicious, I have immediately saved this recipe. My only change was to increase the arrowroot to 4 tbs as it didn’t seem to thicken as much as I anticipated. Having said that I’m in Australia and I think our cup & tbs measurements are not quite the same as the US so maybe I should have used the mL and grams to measure. Either way this is so delicious!! I’m so glad to be able to eat lemon curd again!!

This is so amazing, I don’t even have words. I recently had to switch to gluten free and dairy/egg free. It’s been difficult (the egg thing is killing me!) but I decided to try this recipe yesterday for a little treat. I love lemon and I love any kind of lemon pie… so I went on the hunt for some gluten free, vegan graham crackers (much harder than I thought!) and found some by Schar. I crushed them up with some cashews (a take on a traditionl pie crust) and put them at the bottom of a small bowl and then poured some of this lemon curd on top with some raspberries (because the photo above just looked so pretty). One word – epic. This is now going to be my go-to dessert recipe. I bet it would be insane to make it into a trifle with the graham crackers and curd and raspberries… and I bet I could take it to a party/picnic and no one would know it was GF and Vegan.

I’m assuming I missed something or did something wrong. I made the lemon curd this afternoon, only thing I had to sub was the maple syrup, used agave instead. It’s been in the fridge for almost six hours, and has the consistency of elmer’s glue, and a really weird mouth feel. I’ve made regular lemon curd on a regular basis, and this is just, well kinda gross. It doesn’t taste bad but the texture is really off-putting.

Hi Dana! Long time lover of the blog. LOVE this recipe. I’ve been thinking about using it in a pistachio creme brulee (hoping to recreate a dessert I had on vacation). But I was wondering, have you thought about trying aquafaba to make this into a vegan lemon meringue? I think it would be interesting to try it out. I just heard about aquafaba very recently (as in today), but I haven’t seen any mention of it here yet.

I run a BnB catering to any dietary need. I made this today for a breakfast. I doubled the lemon zest, and added an extra 1/4 c of lemon juice to get the tartness I wanted. I think it tastes great, thank you!

Substituted Tapioca starch for arrowroot and it worked great. Added 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar to the 2 Tbsp of maple syrup, which really helped up the brightness of the lemon! Or maybe I just have a stubborn palate. Thank you! This is going to be a great birthday gift for my lemon loving egg allergic father in law.

The brand Bob’s Red Mill makes (?) it. I got mine at Whole Foods, but I’ve been noticing a lot more “mainstream” grocery stores carrying a lot more of Bob’s Red Mill products lately. I found mine in the same aisle as the baking stuff.

Really liked this! I made some GF and vegan lemon scones and they were lacking a bit and this was the perfect accompaniment to them. I did double the lemon zest just to magnify the lemon taste. I can’t wait to to experiment further with ways to us this! Thanks!

I made this Lemon Curd yesterday following the instructions; left it overnite in fridge. It did not set at all so this morning I reheated on low boil for 20 min, then put back in fridge. It is still like milk & will not set. Why? I used Thai coconut milk. Not a happy baker.
ps. Most of your recipes that I’ve tried have been great

I used exact amounts. Coconut milk wasn’t thick. So after 2 days I put it back on the stove & added cornstarch – back in the fridge overbite – still never got thick – ate some as a sauce – sadly threw the rest away.

This didn’t work for me either :( I think having the arrow root at the beginning destroyed the starches, I tried to add additional after it sat off the heat, but no luck. :( now I have a cake with no filling.

Sorry to be replying so late in the game. If the curd does not thicken up while cooking or if it goes thin after refrigerating, it means someone has been tasting it and has introduced enzymes from their saliva into the mixture. At this point you have no choice but to dump it out.
Replacements for arrowroot starch: tapioca starch, cornstarch, potato starch
I’m going to try making this with orange flower honey instead of maple syrup and hope to use it as a base for a blueberry tart. :-)

This recipe is so delicious. I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 4 tablespoons of pure Grade B maple syrup to make it perfect for my palate. It is so refreshing and is something I plan to make again & again.

This recipe was wonderful! I served it with some simple vegan shortbread cookies to maximize the focus on the curd. I added 3 extra tablespoons (5 total) liquid sweetener (I used agave) to drive out the tartness.

I just made this basic recipe last night (had to make a couple of changes due to what I had on hand)…used corn starch (organic) in place of the arrowroot and only had full fat coconut milk, no cream, so used that and added an extra Tbsp cornstarch….it turned out GREAT! Very lemony! I have recently began eating vegan (and dropping the refined sugars) due to having stage 4 breast cancer and I have LOVED your blog site! I think this is the third thing I have made. I made it for my mom’s bday today because she is diabetic, so also does not need a bunch of sugar and she loves lemon. She topped her whole grain waffle with it this morning! BIG hit with both of us! :D
Thanks for sharing!

Lemon desserts are my favourite! I changed a few things up: I used cornstarch and coconut milk instead of arrowroot and coconut cream and added an extra tablespoon of cornstarch to thicken, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of vanilla and 1/8 tsp of tumeric to give it some colour. It was so tangy and excellent paired with raspberries!

A funny story about Lemon Curd. Today we were sitting at lunch with some classmates and one mentioned making lemon curd for some family coming into town….I mentioned how I was using coconut milk/cream to make recipes vegan and my favorite was the one from Trader Joes. When I got home and checked my email, yours was the first one I opened…..about vegan lemon curd and trader joes coconut cream! Pretty cool!!!

That sounds absolutely perfect! It’s been ages since I’ve had lemon curd, although it was my favourite topping when I was younger. I’m definitely going to make this as soon as I can get my hands on some lemons. Thanks!

Thank you so much. I love easy to make recipe with not too many ingredients. I had many beautiful meyer lemons so I wanted to make Lemon curd for vegan glutenfree pot luck Christmas. Went Christmas Eve day to trader joe’s but they were out of coconut cream so bought coconut milk (2 cans as i idoubled the recipe). and no arrowroot . so then went Vons and no cream or arrowroot so ought cornstarch. It came out great! I used extra maple syrup and I bought fresh mint and raspberries to decorate and crystal plastic cups and I know it will be a big hit today. Merry Christmas.

Hi there,
I was so happy when i saw you created a lemon curd recipe. I used to love lemon curd but haven’t found a plant based one and here you are answering my wants. Will have to get some lemons before i give this a go.
Enjoy always…..xoxo rm

Hi Dana,
Love your blog, have done for ages now and have finally taken the leap to create one myself. This recipe looks absolutely delicious, I would like to follow a plant based diet eventually and will definitely be giving this one a go! Beautiful photos too.
Happy Easter when it comes!
Katie x

I saw this in my inbox and knew I had to make it immediately. I have made a traditional one in the past, but like the idea of eating this one as a stand alone custard dessert. I even used Meyer lemons! Here’s what my experience was: following the recipe to the letter, it was nice, but it lacked depth. So added about 2 tbsp maple sugar, so as not to dilute the curd itself. Still just okay. But then I added vanilla, and this allowed the brightness of the lemon to really come out! If the lemon doesn’t have anything to contrast against, I find that the brightness hides. So the vanilla really made it for me! I bet it would kick some serious butt with a vanilla bean! #nexttime Thank you!

I would like to have this recipe without vegan consideration, please. I searched this site for traditional lemon curd but it only showed the vegan option. Could you please repost without vegan ingredients or just list which ones would be replaced.
I thank you~ Have a happy Easter

Cookie and Kate just posted a lemon curd (non vegan) recipe that looks delicious. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, but am dairy free, so am so glad Dana posted this one! Anyways, maybe you’ll like the cookie & Kate recipe?

If you took out the vegan ingredients you would be left with nothing !
Vegan simply means no animal products..i.e cruelty free. You wont explode if you eat these ‘vegan’ ingredients, nor will you be infected with veganism..this recipie is simply a cruelty free way to enjoy lemon curd ..whats so objectionable about that ?